1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to multimedia events and more specifically to providing multimodal interaction aids in multimedia events.
2. Introduction
Multimedia conferences are widely used by users in business and private settings to hold meetings, lectures, presentations, and training events. By implementing different types of media, such as video and audio, multimedia conferences greatly enhance the user experience. For example, a presenter in a web conference can provide verbal comments throughout a presentation shared with a group. The group can follow the presentation through a shared display while listening as the presenter explains the material. Both the verbal and visual components of the presentation can be extremely valuable to the group, and the combination can enrich the group's overall experience.
Often, however, there are a number of participants that have limited access to various events and media in the multimedia conference. For example, a participant may be connected to the multimedia conference through an audio bridge that limits the participant's media access to audio. Here, the participant is only able to receive the audio portion of the multimedia conference. Thus, if the multimedia conference includes a slide presentation, for example, the participant must follow the slide presentation using a local copy. However, when using a local copy, the participant is unable to see the presenter's interactions with the slide presentation. The participant may not know which slide is currently being presented or which portion is being edited. Moreover, the presentation would be disrupted if the presenter is required to announce when he or she opens or closes a slide. Consequently, the participant may have difficulty staying with the flow of the slide presentation and obtaining a full user experience, without disrupting the flow of the presentation.